


Red River

by felicitristesse



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Angst, M/M, Suicidal Thoughts, Triggers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-24
Updated: 2014-11-28
Packaged: 2018-02-26 21:23:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2666801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felicitristesse/pseuds/felicitristesse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An arranged marriage between two families is not something unusual. But when Tsugaru found out that his 'fiancee' is suicidal, he is trapped between decisions that will determine his own future and his fiancee's future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Hachimenroppi Orihara is his name!”

Those bloody red orbs flickered under the lights when his name was spoken by a cheery voice, it being the only sign that he was paying attention. In response, he just nodded at the male who sat across of him, confirming the statement of the cheery raven that looks like his doppelganger.

The cheery raven twiddled with his pink yukata, which is similar in pattern with Roppi's and the other raven in the room, Hibiya. The only difference between their yukatas was only the colours, Roppi with colour signature, red, and Hibiya with gold. Smiling widely, Psyche, the cheery raven put one his hands on the table while the other was spread open in Roppi's direction. “He’s, as you can see, mute, but Roppi-chan is very kind! He is very compassionate and kind and cute and—geh, Roppi-chan, why do you pinch me my sides?!”

Roppi slid a paper towards Psyche. _Are you mocking me?_ He wrote in a neat cursive handwriting, almost like a girl’s.

“No, of course I am not mocking you!” Psyche chirped again, seeming to forget that there are two other males in the room. “I speak from the bottom of my heart, you know!”

“You must be blind if you think that way,” Hibiya finally spoke up, “he is the most cold and uncaring person I have ever met.”

Psyche laughed it off. “You just haven’t seen him with animals, Hibi-chan! I saw him took care of a squirrel and a bird and a—ow! It hurts, Roppi-chan!” The male grimaced, twisting around to avoid the pinching on his sides.

Roppi took his pen with his other hand, wrote a few words and slid it to Psyche. _We have guest. Don’t ignore him._

“And that's what he said,” Psyche quickly snatched the paper and showed in to the only blonde male in the room with blue kimono. “See how considerate he is?”

 _I fail to understand why you are very passionate about promoting me_ , Roppi wrote.

“Because people misunderstand you a lot, and I don’t want that to happen again, Roppi-chan…” Psyche pouted.

Ignoring the younger raven, Roppi took another paper to write again, this time sliding it towards the blonde. _I apologize that you have to go a long way just to meet a mute guy like me._

“Not at all, Hachimenroppi-san.” The blonde offered a gentle smile. “It is an honor to see the oldest son of the Orihara household.”

“Right? Right? Roppi-chan’s awesome, right?” Psyche giggled, poking his brother on the sides. But to that, Roppi only offered a weak, humble smile.

 _I am nothing compared to my siblings._ Roppi wrote again, his gaze lowered a little bit. _But I am also honored that the oldest son of Heiwajima household walked this far to meet me. Please, do make yourself at home._

“You hypocrite,” Hibiya stood up when he saw the writing. “I am leaving. You seem to be fine talking to him by yourself anyway, so I don’t have to babysit you. Psyche, let’s go. You are not even supposed to be here. What about the dishes? I bet you haven’t done them.”

“Ah, right! The dishes!” Psyche squealed and stood abruptly. “I am sorry, but I have to excuse myself. Roppi-chan, good luck!” And with that both of them left.

The word that Hibiya uttered stuck to the blonde’s mind no matter how he tried to shake it off. _Hypocrite…?_

A paper was slid to the blonde once more.

_I apologize for the unpleasant situation just now, Tsugaru-san. Hibiya seemed to be in a bad mood today._

Tsugaru gave a smile to the smaller man. “No, don’t mind it.”

After that came a brief silence, even though every passing second was as awkward as one hour.

“…Hachimenroppi-san, I assume you are aware of the situation we’re in already? About the… arranged marriage?” Tsugaru finally broke the silence.

Roppi nodded slightly, his head lowered so that his eyes won’t meet the cerulean pair of orbs.

“How… do you feel about it? I don’t want to force this to you,” Tsugaru said softly. “If you don’t wish for this marriage, I shall inform my father so it can be canceled. You don’t have to feel bad.”

Roppi was silent for a while, not making any movement nor expression. His expression remained stagnant, unchanging despite the course of conversation from beginning to end.

_It was I who should be asking you that, Tsugaru-san. After all, you’ll be the one who’s going to marry the flawed me._

Roppi slid another paper towards the blonde, his head hung low. But his hands kept on writing on another paper.

_Don’t feel bad about me. Just leave, I will inform it to my father._

Roppi stood up after writing so without giving Tsugaru any time to respond, leaving the room. He walked back with long strides to the main house.

_…Father is crazy to even suggest this._

Roppi thought to himself, his sharp teeth chewing on his rosy lips. _It can’t be… the oldest of Heiwajima family with me? And he looks so… perfect, too…_

“Wait, Hachimenroppi-san!”

Roppi visibly flinched when a hand touched his shoulder. He quickly took a few steps away from the owner of the hand, who is none other than Tsugaru.

“Ah, I am sorry to surprise you.” Tsugaru lightly bowed, taking note of the stiff expression Roppi had shown. Finally, a change in expression. “I just… I do not agree with this arranged marriage, but I do think that it is beneficial for us to know each other better. Will you allow me the honor to do so?”

Roppi kept both of his arms close to his chest, his pale, thin fingers fiddling with the collar of his red yukata. He didn’t bring the paper with him, so he couldn’t exactly answer either. And he was pretty sure this man did not understand sign language…

So he only shook his head, bowed, and left. Leaving the dumbfounded Tsugaru in the hallway of his large house.

He knew he would earn an earful later, but the blonde’s future was more important than a few hours scolding.


	2. Chapter 2

“…?”

Tsugaru was very puzzled by the unexpected development. First he was left in the room, and then he was left in the hallway. Did Hachimenroppi hate him that much, he wondered. Possibly, as Hachimenroppi was coerced to this arranged marriage… 

Tsugaru sighed audibly. He was indeed fascinated by Hachimenroppi. Mainly because of the male’s eyes, which seemed to draw him in, and his aura, which seemed to be very cold yet warm in the same time. But if his presence were not wanted…

“I shall excuse myself to him first…” he muttered. Walking to the direction that Roppi disappeared to, he looked around to find anything to be his mark. Orihara’s house was pretty big after all, he may got lost if he were to just walk around without paying attention to his surroundings. In the corridors that seemed to get darker every step, he found some paintings… black and white ones. They were put in a small frame, probably not more than 10x10cm, and were lined neatly. They weren’t crooked for even a single degree, and no single speck of dust could be spotted either. The owner must be pretty clean freak.

“Tsugaru-san?”

A cute voice spoke up. Tsugaru’s heart almost leaped up to his throat.

“A-ah, hi, Psyche.” Tsugaru tried to calm himself. He must be pretty absorbed in the paintings that he was that surprised over a mere greeting.

“This way is no-entry, you know,” Psyche tilted his head a little. “And where’s Roppi-chan?”

“He’s somewhere in this direction… I am currently looking for him. I want to excuse myself… because seems that the marriage is not going to work.”

“Not going to work? Why? Is it because he’s mute?” Psyche asked innocently, though his pink eyes glinted with something else.

“No… it’s not that, Psyche-san. He seemed to not like me.”

“Roppi-chan didn’t like you?” Psyche tilted his head a little. “I thought you know that from the very beginning?”

“Huh?” Tsugaru was puzzled. How is he supposed to know that?

“Roppi-chan hates humans, you know.” Psyche explained when he saw Tsugaru’s puzzled expression. “I thought you already knew and still trying to go for it, that’s why I root so much for you. Are you going to leave Roppi-chan after knowing this fact? You are not going to, right? You are not that mean of a person, right?”

Tsugaru blinked twice. What is with this family?

“He didn’t seem to be a bad person, regardless his… uh,” Tsugaru tried to recall the fitting word, “misanthropy…? He seemed to be a nice person, so I won’t just leave him because of that. I just don’t want to bother him when he does not wish my company, that’s all.”

“You see, Tsugaru-san…” Psyche smiled. “Roppi-chan’s a very lonely person. Make sure you accompany him nicely, alright? You may pass.” Psyche went behind Tsugaru and pushed the blonde towards the dark hallway. “Ah, don’t back down after this, yes? I trust you on this! Don’t leave Roppi-chan no matter what after this. No matter what you are going to see, okay? Adieu!”  
And then Psyche ran, leaving him in the hallway.

Déjà vu much?

“…Why does he make it sound like a big deal? It’s as if I am going to see something… unpleasant.”

Tsugaru hesitated a little upon the little ‘warning’ of the pink-eyed man.

“Shall I… or shall I not?”

Despite his hesitance, his legs brought him deeper and deeper to the dark hallway, until finally he met a door. It was… very modern, unlike the rest of the house that was very traditional.

“Shall I… or shall I not—“ without Tsugaru being able to finish his own pondering, the door was open.

And a knife was pressed to his throat in a second.


	3. Chapter 3

The blood splotches dripped to Tsugaru’s socks, slowly seeped through the small cloth. Even though he wasn’t able to see due to the dark surroundings, he can still make sense that the warmth on his feet originated from blood. 

The knife remained approximately two centimeters from his skin. It hadn’t made any contact with his smooth but sturdy skin.

“…Hachimenroppi-san? Are you…”

Roppi bit his lips. _Leave. Leave. Leave._ He chanted the word mentally, but unfortunately he couldn’t actually say it. He hoped that through his threatening gesture, he would be able to remind the Heiwajima to not come over here ever again. Even though the risk would be… this guy telling his whole family of how fucked up the oldest son of the Orihara family is, and probably more than an earful of scolding from his father.

“Injured?”

Roppi blinked in confusion when Tsugaru held his uninjured wrist, gently taking the knife away from his grasp. The touch was gentle, but not overly gentle as if he was a porcelain doll that he hated. The gentle touch was something that is assuring… and Roppi found himself helplessly giving in to the touch.

“You need to be treated immediately. Do you have a medical kit somewhere? You can just point at the direction where you have it… I will fetch it for you. For the time being,” Tsugaru put away the knife, and tugged on his obi. Using his free hand he took Roppi’s other hand and bandaged the wound on his wrist using the obi, tightening it enough to stop the bleeding but not too tight to make the smaller man feel uncomfortable. “We have to stop the bleeding.”

Roppi’s mouth opened as he frantically tried to convey his feeling towards the blonde with sign language. He completely forgot that the blonde did not understand any of them.

_Why are you doing this? Why are you here? Why… why do you…?!_

“I am sorry,” Tsugaru bowed while holding Roppi’s hand, “for not understanding what are you trying to say. But before anything that you want to say, you can save it for after we already stop your bleeding, alright?”

_????_

_This guy--!_

“I will look for the medical kit in your room, if that’s okay with you.”

Roppi widened his eyes even more. Not his room! Roppi clung to the blonde’s arm desperately, trying to prevent Tsugaru from coming inside of his room.

Even though it was a little bit too late.

The room was completely at mess. Bloodstains adorned the floor in a trail, marking the path that the smaller male had walked on. Some seeped through the blanket, staining the bedcover, some dripped from the edge of a blade on the bedside table. On the floor were tons of pictures in black and white; several were framed even though the glass had broke.

Tsugaru’s pair of eyes widened slightly at the sight. “...What’s… going on here?” He turned to the smaller man, who refused to meet his eyes. “Are you doing that to yourself?”

Roppi couldn’t answer the question.

 _He must’ve thought of me as a lunatic_ , Roppi sighed mentally. _This is why I hate humans, so meddlesome and forceful and just…_

“Hachimenroppi-san, please show me where the first aid kit is.”

The gentle voice slipped again from the blonde’s lips, which now had formed a gentle smile. Roppi tilted his head upwards out of surprise, finally meeting the eyes of the blonde.

He didn’t see anything close to judgment inside those pure blue eyes.

“If you don’t want to tell me, at least let me look for it. You can cling to me again if your wound is treated.” A chuckle followed afterwards.

Roppi instantly released his hold on the blonde’s arm. He turned his face away from the blonde, heat starting to sweep his cheeks.

Who would ever thought that the blonde is capable of such teasing?

“Found it.” Tsugaru lifted a small medical kit and turned to Roppi again. “Hachimenroppi-san, can you come here? It will be more convenient to treat you on the bed.” Finding some hesitancy on the male’s eyes, he continued with a reassuring smile. “I swear I won’t do anything to you.”

The heat that had dissipated for a moment came back in full force when the blonde said it. But all the whys disappeared from Roppi’s mind for the moment as he walked towards the kimono-clad male. Sitting on the bed quietly and gracefully, he lowered his head to look at his bleeding wrist. 

The wound that crisscrosses the fresh scars isn’t a very nice sight to see. But regardless, Tsugaru took care of the wound gently, without a single sign of disgust or anything alike.

Roppi wondered if this male is even human.

“Done.” Tsugaru tied the bandage so it wouldn’t slip off neatly. “You should not move it too much, and don’t forget to change the bandages often. You won’t want it to get infected.”

Roppi merely nodded as a response.

“…Do you hate me that much that you don’t want to know me better?” Tsugaru looked at the crimson orbs, lightly touching the wound. “And is this wound caused by… me?” A slight tremble on his words indicated the man’s seriousness, and Roppi himself can see the honesty and sincerity inside the blue orbs.

But it wasn’t like Roppi can answer the male, so he only stayed quiet. He knew that if he were to shake his head, this male would continue to question him and draw the truth outside of him. And he wasn’t ready to actually let this male to go inside his comfort circle. Even Hibiya and Psyche had not actually earned his trust; it just happens that they are living in the same house as he is. He did not trust anyone. Even the cheery Psyche was dark in more ways than one. Who can tell that this male, as sincere as he appeared to be, is not hiding anything? Who can tell that Tsugaru does not have any ulterior motive? He had lived long enough to not be that gullible.

Even though he wished, he really wished, to believe this man.

“…Can I come again next time?”

Roppi lifted his head to meet Tsugaru’s eyes, staring incredulously. This man wants to meet me again? He secretly questioned.

“I promise I will try to learn sign language before I come back. “ Another incredulous stare from Roppi, yet Tsugaru still continued. “I want to communicate properly with you, Hachimenroppi-san.”

Roppi’s mouth opened in an attempt to voice his thoughts, but obviously, no voice escaped his mouth. But before he can continue, Tsugaru’s index finger was already on his lips.

“I will come back for you.” Tsugaru smiled, and with that he exited the room before Roppi could do anything.  
 _  
…_

_What just happened?!  
_


End file.
